House Judiciary chair Jerry Nadler says he plans to request documents from more than 60 people as part of an investigation into Trump's obstruction, 'corruption, and abuse of power'

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 8, 2019 file photo, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., questions Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker as he appears before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Emboldened by their new majority, Democrats are undertaking several broad new investigations into President Donald Trump and setting the stage for a post-Robert Mueller world. Nadler has helped lead the charge to pressure the Justice Department to release the full report by Mueller to the public. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Associated Press

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that he plans to request documents from more than 60 individuals and entities as part of a widening investigation into President Donald Trump's "obstruction of justice, corruption, and abuse of power."

Asked on ABC's "This Week" whether he was considering impeachment, Nadler said, "Impeachment is a long way down the road. We don't have the facts yet. But we're going to initiate proper investigations."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy later waved off potential charges against Trump, saying "there's nothing that the president did wrong," and impeachment would be a politically motivated move from Democrats.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that he will request documents from over 60 individuals and entities linked to the White House as part of a widening probe into President Donald Trump's "obstruction of justice, corruption, and abuse of power."

Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Nadler said it was "very clear" Trump had obstructed justice in the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 US election. He pointed, in particular, to Trump's public attacks on the investigation and officials at the Justice Department and the courts.

"1,100 times he referred to the Mueller investigation as a 'witch hunt,'" Nadler said. "He tried to protect [former national security adviser Michael Flynn] from being investigated by the FBI. He fired [former FBI director James Comey] in order to 'stop the Russia thing,' as he told NBC News. He's dangled pardons, he's intimidated witnesses in public."

Nadler said he would be issuing document requests beginning on Monday. Those people will include Donald Trump Jr., Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, and several others from the White House and Justice Department.

Nadler's remarks came after Michael Cohen, Trump's former longtime lawyer and fixer, testified against Trump in an explosive, public hearing before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Among other things, Cohen accused Trump of engaging in criminal conduct while in office connected to a $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult-film star Stormy Daniels.

The payment was made shortly before the 2016 election, and federal prosecutors in New York found that Cohen violated campaign-finance laws when he facilitated the payment on Trump's behalf.

In their charging document against Cohen, prosecutors named two individuals — "Executive 1" and "Executive 2" — as being co-conspirators in the scheme. On Wednesday, Cohen told lawmakers those individuals were Weisselberg and Trump Jr., respectively.

Nadler has previously acknowledged the possibility of impeaching Trump, though has expressed a desire for caution before Congress pursues any action to avoid debates over politically motivated targets on Trump.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy later waved off Democrats' concerns and the threat of impeachment, telling "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos "there's nothing that the president did wrong."

"Show me where the president did anything to be impeached," McCarthy said, before casting the potential move as a political hit against Trump. "I think Congressman Nadler decided to impeach the president the day the president won the election."